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Boston Celtics: Grading The Offseason

By Gerald Bourguet

Feb 25, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jonas Jerebko (8), guard Evan Turner (11), guard Isaiah Thomas (4), forward Jae Crowder (99) and guard Marcus Smart (36) celebrate against the New York Knicks during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jonas Jerebko (8), guard Evan Turner (11), guard Isaiah Thomas (4), forward Jae Crowder (99) and guard Marcus Smart (36) celebrate against the New York Knicks during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 24, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Amir Johnson (15) dunks the ball as Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (3) and Wizards center Marcin Gortat (4) look on in the fourth quarter in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 106-99, and lead the series 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Adding Amir

For a team that needed to bolster its interior defense, signing Amir Johnson to a two-year, $24 million contract is a pretty nice bargain. Johnson isn’t an All-Star, but he was beloved in Toronto for a reason. He’s a hard worker, a valuable role player and will automatically be one of the team’s best interior defenders.

For the meager price of $12 million a season (don’t forget, that NBA salary cap is skyrocketing by $40 million over the next two summers), the Celtics now have yet another frontcourt option to throw at opponents. You can be guaranteed that Stevens will find a way to utilize Johnson correctly, even as he struggles to distribute minutes among his suddenly crowded frontcourt.

However, this signing is not as idyllic as it’s been made out to be. For one thing, Johnson is virtually useless outside of 10 feet on the offensive end of the floor. He’s a decent pick-and-roll player, but other than that he’s a pretty limited scorer when he’s not right at the rim.

For another thing, his athleticism is starting to wane at age 28, which will inevitably lead to his decline on the defensive end. In fact, according to Nylon Calculus, Tyler Zeller was a more effective deterrent at the rim, holding opponents to 53.3 percent shooting. Compare that to Johnson’s 55.2 percent and there’s a chance his defensive impact has been a little overstated.

Johnson is still a good pickup that makes the Celtics a better team, but he’s also nothing more than a temporary placeholder until Ainge can find a star in a trade or until the team’s younger frontcourt players are ready to surpass Johnson on the court.

Grade: B+

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